Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Back live today after the holiday break and today kicking off a campaign on the show, along with many LGBT bloggers and opinionmakers in a blog swarm, urging people to call the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay group, and tell the group to pressure President Obama on getting "don't ask, don't tell" repealed this year.

As you know, the president said in his state of the union that he'd "work to repeal" DADT "this year," and Defense Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen backed repeal but announced yet another study, which will take a year.

We do not have a year to wait and there is no need for another study. Democrats and supporters of repeal will lose seats this fall. We have momentum now, but it is being lost and there is no leadership on repealing the policy now. And if it is not repealed now it may be years away. There is no reason why, as Barney Frank as said, and as I and other opinion makers have stated, that we cannot have a vote now. The repeal can be pending the completion of the study. The repeal can be added as an amendment onto the Defense Authorization bill. It will be summer by the time that is voted on, and the study completion will then be just a few months away.

We must have a vote before the fall, but the Democratic-controlled Congress doesn't move on anything without leadership from the Democratic president. The White House has been vague, saying it is waiting until Congress passes a bill. That's unacceptable. We need leadership from the president.

The Human Rights Campaign, largest LGBT group in the country, has been muted on the issue and had refrained from demanding action from the president. The group has tried to shift all responsibility to Congress while praising the president for his words. And even Congress seems to be getting some leeway. HRC hasn't been opposed to a vote now, but hasn't lobbied this president strongly and publicly. to push Congressional leaders. On my radio program a few weeks ago, HRC's Joe Solmonese expressed support for a vote now, but also seemed to imply that what we're likely to get is a vote in the House this year, no vote in the Senate until next year. That is not acceptable.

We need HRC publicly calling on the president -- through an open letter perhaps, given to a major newspaper for publication, so as to have impact -- to take the lead on repealing DADT this year, to push Congress to vote now. As Americanblog notes Just last week, the AFL-CIO was forced to send an action alert to its members, targeting the White House. If it's good enough for the unions, it's good enough for us:

We truly believe that if HRC were to openly call on the White House to get DADT repealed this year, it would happen. Mostly because Democrats are rightly worried about the gay vote (and the support of our straight allies) months before a critical congressional election.

Contact HRC today urge the group to publicly demand that the President take the lead in getting DADT repealed this year. That means taking the lead in making sure Congress votes, not just throwing it to Congress and waiting for it to act.

I will be discussing this on the show, taking calls and asking listeners to call HRC. I will also ask you to call back and let us know what they say.

If HRC tells you that the group has backed the idea of a vote, or has stated it publicly, you have to be clear: You want a strong public statement, in an open letter, directed specifically at the President to take the lead on a repeal vote this year, not just a study. Of course, be polite. HRC is working for LGBT rights, we just disagree right now with their reticence. And since they are representing us we're letting them know how they should be doing so, how they should be speaking more forcefully on our behalf.

The Michelangelo Signorile Show airs across the U.S. and Canada weekdays from 3-6 p.m. EST on SiriusXM Progress 127, and on the iPhone via the Sirius XM iPhone app. Listen online at any time by getting a free three-day pass and tuning to Progress 127. Learn more about my show and Progress. For interview ideas and show topics, please e-mail producer Sean Bertollo.

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